I agree. I think he had every right to defend himself and his home, but he took it beyond self-defense.
GUILTY MN - Byron Smith charged with murder after shooting 2 teens
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I agree. I think he had every right to defend himself and his home, but he took it beyond self-defense.
MNlady
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This ^^^ I agree. He convicted himself with "killing shot" and " I wanted him dead". So he ended his own life as he knew it. . . he's 65, even with appeals he'll die in prison. Sad for everyone in this case.
He should called the police right after he shot them and then lawyered up. Then he could have lied about what actually happened. "I shot them and they were still moving and I thought they were going for a gun so I shot them again. I was afraid for my life." The evidence would have shown his home was broken into by these 2, who had broken into his home and the homes of others before. Clearly by his actions after he shot them ie. waiting until the next day to report it (who leaves 2 dead bodies in their house overnight???) and by the statements he made, he's unstable.
It's my impression that Smith is well satisfied that he killed them. Does he care about jail? I dunno, but at 65 I think incarceration becomes less fearful and he was living home alone anyway.
They are still dead and if that does not give home invaders pause, nothing will.
They are still dead and if that does not give home invaders pause, nothing will.
Blondie in Spokane
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"What the jury DIDN'T hear about veteran who shot burglars dead: Homeowner had befriended teens he killed in his basement - but they were part of gang that drove him crazy for a year by 'treating his estate like a candy store'
"On Tuesday the jury convicted Smith on all counts of first degree premeditated murder. Now MailOnline tells the full shocking story of the killings, the killer and the evidence the jury were not allowed to hear..."
Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/art...ng-estate-like-candy-store.html#ixzz30LtEdQZF
"On Tuesday the jury convicted Smith on all counts of first degree premeditated murder. Now MailOnline tells the full shocking story of the killings, the killer and the evidence the jury were not allowed to hear..."
Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/art...ng-estate-like-candy-store.html#ixzz30LtEdQZF
ohiogirl
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I agree he should have called LE right away. Dont' agree about the lying part. If he was justified in killing them, why lie?
I also think he should have submitted to a mental exam to see if he was in his right mind. If so, I agree with the verdict. If not, he might not be where he is today.
No one should have to go through what he did, but, imo, he took the solution too far. jmo and all that jazz:seeya:
The manner in which the two kids were killed , calling them vermin, implying that they are less than human beings is appalling. He should pay for it but sentenced to a few years, not life. I say this because the one thing and it is a very big thing, the kids were in his home, uninvited. They had broken in on him before, stealing from him and literally torturing this man, robbing him of his sense of security in his on home.
Our homes are our safe haven, our sanctuary, our peace. Breaking into a home robs you of any safe place to be. Afterall , if you can't feel safe and secure in your own home, WHERE can yo go to fill this need? Mr. Smiths home was reduced to a violated, unsafe, terror filled building, not a home. His safety, his peace , his safe haven was no more. He was no longer secure in his own home and could not even sleep for the constant fear, uneasiness, dread and thoughts of what was going to happen next. I honestly believe this man was driven to the madness that he exhibited. Just put yourself in his place for a few moments, there is no way that any of us wouldn't crack under this pressure.
To convict this man on all four counts of first and second degree murder absolves these kids of any responsibility in their own deaths. There is no way to ever eliminate the fact that they broke into this man's home, once again.They were responsible to a large degree for their own deaths. If they had been somewhere else pretending to be the two cute, law abiding , gorgeous teens as their pictures imply they would be alive today. Did they deserve to be slaughtered and to be treated as less than human, of course not. The way that Mr. Smith behaved in this terrible situation is pathetic. I think that many of us would be driven to behaving irrationally with sleep deprivation and repeated break ins in our safe havens, HOME.
I just hope that this guilty verdict doesn't send the wrong message to burglars causing them to believe that homeowners will be less likely to protect their homes if they know that they will be convicted of first degree murder.
No one wins here. What a terrible loss.
Our homes are our safe haven, our sanctuary, our peace. Breaking into a home robs you of any safe place to be. Afterall , if you can't feel safe and secure in your own home, WHERE can yo go to fill this need? Mr. Smiths home was reduced to a violated, unsafe, terror filled building, not a home. His safety, his peace , his safe haven was no more. He was no longer secure in his own home and could not even sleep for the constant fear, uneasiness, dread and thoughts of what was going to happen next. I honestly believe this man was driven to the madness that he exhibited. Just put yourself in his place for a few moments, there is no way that any of us wouldn't crack under this pressure.
To convict this man on all four counts of first and second degree murder absolves these kids of any responsibility in their own deaths. There is no way to ever eliminate the fact that they broke into this man's home, once again.They were responsible to a large degree for their own deaths. If they had been somewhere else pretending to be the two cute, law abiding , gorgeous teens as their pictures imply they would be alive today. Did they deserve to be slaughtered and to be treated as less than human, of course not. The way that Mr. Smith behaved in this terrible situation is pathetic. I think that many of us would be driven to behaving irrationally with sleep deprivation and repeated break ins in our safe havens, HOME.
I just hope that this guilty verdict doesn't send the wrong message to burglars causing them to believe that homeowners will be less likely to protect their homes if they know that they will be convicted of first degree murder.
No one wins here. What a terrible loss.
wispyspirit
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I have to wonder why he made the audiotape. He never told the police about it. The investigators found it. I think he made an audiotaped souvenir so he could could play it over and over again. There was no other reason to make it as it proved the case against him.
As far as a mental evaluation, I would think his lawyer would have wanted to do one. He had the best in the business of defense attorneys in Minnesota. I wouldn't doubt if Smith nixed anything to do with a psychiatric evaluation.
Another thing that makes me go hmmmm is that he claims he had a large number of burglaries but he never reported them to the police except the last one before the killings. That is strange to not report them.
Smith smacks of being off kilter in the mind. Paranoid. Perhaps psychotic/delusional as he claimed the girl laughed and in reality she screamed. Grandiose whispered ramblings to himself on the audiotape. After listening to it I thought he was off his rocker.
As far as a mental evaluation, I would think his lawyer would have wanted to do one. He had the best in the business of defense attorneys in Minnesota. I wouldn't doubt if Smith nixed anything to do with a psychiatric evaluation.
Another thing that makes me go hmmmm is that he claims he had a large number of burglaries but he never reported them to the police except the last one before the killings. That is strange to not report them.
Smith smacks of being off kilter in the mind. Paranoid. Perhaps psychotic/delusional as he claimed the girl laughed and in reality she screamed. Grandiose whispered ramblings to himself on the audiotape. After listening to it I thought he was off his rocker.
colette
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Mr Anderson said: He set up that audio recording that was made so much of in court. There was so much asked about why he did that as if it was just for those kids that day.
Hed been doing that every day for weeks. He had it running 24 hours; hed check it then reset it every morning.
He told me that that way, if something happened to him, at least there would be that recording and we would know what it was.
As it turned out, those recordings would be used against him in court to reveal the darkest most violent acts and utterances workings that Thanksgiving morning
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/art...ng-estate-like-candy-store.html#ixzz30LtEdQZF
IMO, first or second degree murder is ridiculous. This man was in his own home ... What gives these 2 the right to break in repeatedly?! And he's supposed to just sit back and take it?? Maybe, if the police had done their job to begin with, the two thieves would have been in jail, and not dead. I think he was pushed to a breaking point, and at the end of the day, he didn't go confront them .. They BROKE IN his house yet again!!
Will be interesting to see what the Appeals Court has to say. In the mean time, Smith has a cot, 3 hots a day, access to health and mental care, probably 23 hours a day in his cell and a little TV.
ckrdpast
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link to audio recorded by Byron Smith Thanksgiving Day 2012
Scroll down
Warning Graphic
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/art...ded-65-year-old-killer-set-trap-basement.html
Scroll down
Warning Graphic
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/art...ded-65-year-old-killer-set-trap-basement.html
He should have stopped and called the police once the two were laying incapacitated on the ground, probably already close to dying. He crossed the line by then shooting them both in the face, which was completely unnecessary, and his words on the recording show that he was not in fear of his life. Saying "Sorry about that" after shooting the girl, then calling her a "*****" before shooting her under the chin, then telling the boy "You're dead" after shooting him in the face are the words of a psychopath. Not someone who feared for their life.
Seeing what happened to these teens, I don't see how any burglar would look at this as a positive for their career.
Also, I doubt most people, after disabling an unarmed intruder who is then dying on their floor, would then have the urge to then shoot that person in the face instead of calling 911 (much less wait a whole day to do so). So it's not like we're going to see stories like this pop up very often unless people really have a bloodlust like this guy did. I mean, it's one thing to be able to shoot someone in the first place. It's another to taunt that person verbally, shoot them in the face, and got to bed to deal with it the next day.
SwampMama
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http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/art...ng-estate-like-candy-store.html#ixzz30LtEdQZF
i am really saddened by this verdict. I do believe that this man had been harrassed, stolen from, suffered break ins, thefts, vandalism and had losses of about $50,000 due to the group of teens. He had been kind to them and they returned the favor by stealing from him and targeting for vandalism and break ins. He had called the cops but they did nothing. Some of the tefts and breakins were not reported because he did not know that things had been stolen and he just thought he had mislaid the items. but then it became clear that there was absolute repeated acts of theft going on.
He was a prisoner in his own home, went months without peaceful sleep, never knew when the next incident would happen or escalate, became paranoid. his friend verified all of that about his declining mental state.
This man was a decent human, a contributing member of society and a Vietnam Vet. he did not bother anyone and kept to himself. He had no one to help him and was basically alone.
The kids had a history of known drug abuse, drug theft, had robbed another house and had stuff from that house in their car when it was found. These were no angels or innocents or harmless teens doing silly teenage stuff. They were committing felonies, repeatedly. When he referred to them as vermin, I understood that. They were like unwanted pests coming into his home, taking things, destroying stuff, robbing him of the security of peace of mind in his own home. They were not going to stop and were just getting bolder.
I have severe insomnia and often go 48 or 72 hours without real sleep. it can be so disorienting and can affect you. I can understand his mental state. I didn;t go to sleep at all last night and read a lot on this case. i finally fell asleep about noon today for about an hour and i dreamed that i was living in a situation where people were repeatedly breaking in my home and taking things. it was horrific and it was only a 20 minute dream. I can't imagine living thru months of that.
I feel like he snapped. He does NOT deserve life in prison. He is not a danger to society any more than I am. Break in my house and I will shoot you too, more than once and not just to get your attention.
He has my complete sympathy.
i am really saddened by this verdict. I do believe that this man had been harrassed, stolen from, suffered break ins, thefts, vandalism and had losses of about $50,000 due to the group of teens. He had been kind to them and they returned the favor by stealing from him and targeting for vandalism and break ins. He had called the cops but they did nothing. Some of the tefts and breakins were not reported because he did not know that things had been stolen and he just thought he had mislaid the items. but then it became clear that there was absolute repeated acts of theft going on.
He was a prisoner in his own home, went months without peaceful sleep, never knew when the next incident would happen or escalate, became paranoid. his friend verified all of that about his declining mental state.
This man was a decent human, a contributing member of society and a Vietnam Vet. he did not bother anyone and kept to himself. He had no one to help him and was basically alone.
The kids had a history of known drug abuse, drug theft, had robbed another house and had stuff from that house in their car when it was found. These were no angels or innocents or harmless teens doing silly teenage stuff. They were committing felonies, repeatedly. When he referred to them as vermin, I understood that. They were like unwanted pests coming into his home, taking things, destroying stuff, robbing him of the security of peace of mind in his own home. They were not going to stop and were just getting bolder.
I have severe insomnia and often go 48 or 72 hours without real sleep. it can be so disorienting and can affect you. I can understand his mental state. I didn;t go to sleep at all last night and read a lot on this case. i finally fell asleep about noon today for about an hour and i dreamed that i was living in a situation where people were repeatedly breaking in my home and taking things. it was horrific and it was only a 20 minute dream. I can't imagine living thru months of that.
I feel like he snapped. He does NOT deserve life in prison. He is not a danger to society any more than I am. Break in my house and I will shoot you too, more than once and not just to get your attention.
He has my complete sympathy.
While I sympathize with his plight, I don't think the full extent of his actions were warranted or justifiable. I understand shooting someone who breaks into your home. I even understand shooting multiple times to make sure the threat is gone. But what reason would you have for not calling the police once the two (unarmed) assailants have been shot and lay dying on your floor? Why play executioner after that point? Would you really do what this man did?
I'm seeing a lot of this carte blanche reasoning to do whatever one wants to do to an intruder in their home. So where does the line get drawn?
Sonya610
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Perhaps the reasonable line should be -- 1 hour to do as you like to them but it CANNOT include sexual acts.
Sexual assault would open up the possibility of baiting. One hour seems fair though. Whatever happens in that hour is okay as long as the individuals are kept on the premises and do not pose a danger to neighbors.
wispyspirit
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Sonya610
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:goodpost:
Apparently they mistook kindness for weakness and it backfired. They made his life a living h*** and laughed while doing it.
They got what they deserved. If anything both the thieves and their families got off easy. The "kids" died via gunshot which is not the most painful way to go. The families aren't left wondering what happened to their "missing little angels" (though I am not sure they would have worried that much, they weren't worried when the kids disappeared on Thanksgiving).